1938 – Paul Revere of the Raiders is born in Boise, Idaho.

Paul Revere and the Raiders is an American rock band that saw enormous mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and earlier 1970s, best-known for hits like “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)” (1971), “Steppin’ Out” & “Just Like Me” (1965), “Kicks” (1966) (ranked #400 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) , “Let Me” (1969), and “Hungry” (1966).

History

Early years

Initially located in Boise, Idaho, the Raiders started as an instrumental rock outfit led by organist Paul Revere (born Paul Revere Dick on January 7, 1938)..

Paul Revere & the Raiders



The band in 1967. Front L–R: Paul Revere, Mike Smith. Center L–R: Jim Valley, Mark Lindsay. Back: Phil Volk

Paul Revere & the Raiders are an American rock band that saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. Among their hits are the songs "Kicks" (1966; ranked No. 400 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time), "Hungry" (1966), "Him Or Me – What's It Gonna Be?" (1967) and the Platinum-certified classic No. 1 single "Indian Reservation" (1971).

History

Early years

Initially based in Boise, Idaho, the Raiders began as an instrumental rock band led by organist and founder Paul Revere Dick (January 7, 1938, Harvard, Nebraska – October 4, 2014). The band relocated to Portland, Oregon, when Revere returned from serving in the armed forces in 1962.

In his early 20s, Revere owned several restaurants in Caldwell, Idaho, and first met singer Mark Lindsay (born March 9, 1942, Eugene, Oregon) while picking up hamburger buns from the bakery where Lindsay worked. The circumstance of their meeting was later referred to in the tongue-in-cheek song "Legend of Paul Revere", recorded by the group. Lindsay joined Revere's band in 1958. Originally called the Downbeats, they changed their name to Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1960 on the eve of their first record release for Gardena Records. The band garnered their first hit in the Pacific Northwest in 1961, with the instrumental "Like, Long Hair". The record had enough national appeal that it peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard chart on April 17, 1961. When Revere was drafted for military service, he became a conscientious objector[9] and worked as a cook at a mental institution for a year and a half of deferred service. During the same time period, Lindsay pumped gas in Wilsonville, Oregon. On the strength of their Top 40 single, Lindsay toured the U.S. in the summer of 1961 with a band that featured Leon Russell taking Revere's place on piano.

By summer 1962, Revere and Lindsay were working together again in Oregon with a version of the Raiders that featured Mike "Smitty" Smith (born Michael LeRoy Smith on March 27, 1942 in Beaverton, Oregon), a drummer who would spend two extended periods with the band. Around this time, KISN DJ Roger Hart, who was producing teen dances, was looking for a band to hire. Hart had a casual conversation with a bank teller who told him about a band called "Paul Revere-something". Hart obtained Revere's phone number and they met for lunch. Hart hired the band for one of his teen dances. Soon afterward, Hart became the group's personal manager. It was Hart who suggested they record "Louie Louie", for which Hart paid them about $50, producing the song and placing it on his Sandē label, ultimately attracting the attention of Columbia Records. According to Lindsay, the Raiders were a "bunch of white-bread kids doing their best to sound black. We got signed to Columbia on the strength of sounding like this." Whether the Raiders or the Kingsmen recorded "Louie Louie" first is not certain; however, both groups recorded it in the same studio in Portland, Oregon, in April 1963. By then, the Raiders included Revere, Lindsay, Smith, guitarist Drake Levin, and bassist Mike "Doc" Holliday, who was replaced in early 1965 by Phil Volk.